For Hire: Slightly Worn, Middle-Aged Blogger With Lots of Life Skills

I've been absent from the blogging world this past week because I have been attached to the computer for an entirely different reason.  Looking for jobs.

While I tell you a little bit about this very interesting/"It's so different than it used to be" experience, I thought I'd share some photos from Mr. T's and my jaunt to San Clemente today, Sunday.  It's hard to believe it's just a half an hour away (the speedy way) or a lovely 45 minute drive on the PCH, which in itself is a beautiful thing to see.

Drive to SC

Besides, you wouldn't want to see pictures of me huddled over the keyboard, red-eyed with fatigue, my brow furrowed in puzzlement, and the odd smile at the ridiculous.

Through the charming seaside "town" that is San Clemente.
More pictures of homes and area when I return with my camera.

So here we go to San Clemente and my interesting job search.

(Please forgive my iPhone pictures, I keep forgetting my camera!)

Lots of Spanish influence in the homes and businesses here.  This is a very small one compared to the ones on the beach and in the hills - wonder which one Richard Nixon retired to?

My first job out of college in 1981 was working at The Orlando Sentinel in their classified advertising department.  I left there two weeks before my son was born in December 1984.  Until this month I have not worked at traditional jobs since then.

You can imagine how creative I've been with my resume...

San Clemente pier

I wasn't laying about eating bon bons all those years (as some people seemed to think us stay at home moms did), I was busy, busy, busy.  Especially when my kids entered school.

See the train tracks?

Mr. T has had a home office a good amount of our married life and I've worked in there doing many different things to help him out or to do some telecommuting work.

Next time we are going to take the train here!

I was looking at how to put together my resume and "they" said not to discount work that was done, but was not a paying job.  I thought back to all the school fundraising projects I had been part of, the years (6!) I worked in the bookkeeper's office during my kids' middle school years and the years (8!) I worked in the records office of the high school.  These volunteer jobs gave me true skills that I can use out in the "real" world. Not to mention in-classroom volunteering, running a school store, and trying to get along with the very political parents of the PTA Board. 

So.

I put together my resume included all that I have mentioned and also added "medical care advocate" for the years I spent managing my aging parents affairs, hospitalizations, and day to day care.

And blogging.
I didn't include it in my resume, per se, but blogging has honed my writing skills, knowledge of the computer in general and various editing programs and techniques.
My kids have helped me hone my social media skills, such as Facebook and Twitter and let's not forget about texting! Oh my gosh, can I text! (Not while driving)

View from pier

And what kind of jobs have I applied for you ask?

Lots of different kinds.
  I'm looking for things that are going to get me out in the world where I can meet new people and help them too.  In fact I already landed my first job!

Lots of surfers were out waiting for that one wave!

Yes, I have!
  It was actually through Facebook.
  I logged onto the local community page and saw an advertisement for a new pet sitting business in town and I emailed the owner/operator.  She had just gotten her website up and rolling the week before and yes she was looking for people to come on board.  I met with her last week and we hit it off.  If I pass the background check (what do you think, can I?) we can move forward.  Since this is a new business it will be a gradual progression towards having a roster of clients, but we have our first consultation in a little over a week with a person who will be getting a new puppy and needs a walker M-F to take the pup out.  If we impress, it will be our first client! My new boss already has a full time job, so I will be the "boots on the ground" walker.  I hope the Bostons won't be jealous!

Pigeons perched on restroom building despite all the wire contraptions to discourage them.

I realize this is not going to bring in an enormous amount of money so I have thrown my hat into a lot of rings in the past week.  It used to be, one scanned the classified ads and circled appropriate listings, then called or went to the place of business.  Now it seems it is all done online.

Mr Tennis takes better iPhone pics than me. Another skill I can perfect!

Let's see, I've applied to two jobs as a "field merchandise rep" in this area with two different well known greeting card companies.  You've seen the people stocking the greeting card sections in stores....that could be me!  What a great way to learn the area and meet a lot of different people too.

Lovely, reasonably priced cafe on the pier. Mr. T's shot -arrrrgh!

I've also applied to a couple of marketing firms that need "field reps" to monitor their customers inventory in various retail outlets.  I'm sure most of you have seen those people with the scanners attached to their hips by a telephone cord sort of attachment scanning merchandise on the shelves.  That could be me!! Another chance at a job that is flexible, active and the scenery changes often.

View from our seats at cafe.

I have an interesting interview set up Tuesday evening with a gentleman from Japan.
Via Skype.
To teach Conversational English to Japanese students through virtual classes.  This one could easily fit into my schedule without travel time.  I will be interested to see if this is a bona fide teaching job, but if I'm not open to different opportunities, I could miss out.
Kawasaki!!!

I have applied for some more traditional type jobs, Administrative Assistant, Teaching Assistant and I even considered applying to be a parking meter reader (but they are very hated in these parts and I want people to like me, not depise me).

 I still hope to rent a space at one of the lovely antique malls found in Old Towne Orange, about 10 minutes from our condo.  My garage is full of "treasures" to stock a booth. By having a couple of smaller "gigs" I could fulfill this dream easily.

I guess we will see what this next week brings.
Next time you hear from me I could be walking a Great Dane and conversing in Japanese.

Thanks for listening to me ramble on about this new adventure.  If you have absolutely nothing to do for 55 seconds, please take a look at the little, pathetic video below shot on my iPhone of the train that runs along the Pacific Coast.

(Again shot on my iPhone.  When will I learn to shoot videos and pictures in the "portrait" framing. Click on it to see it better in full screen....sigh)



 Have a great week!

This is Your Chance to be Brutally Honest!

I don't ask you to tell me what you think of this:

I demand it!

In case you don't realize what it is, it is a light fixture that hangs above the dining room table at our new rental. 

I would like to make the effort to replace it with my old IKEA chandy that I brought with me to California. (Well, I should rephrase that:  I would like Mr. Tennis to make the effort to replace it while I supervise and encourage.)

Do you like this fixture? Or, are you like Bumby and me?

Totally mystified and baffled by it's design and presence....

Now someone will tell me it's a well known classic design and I should be grateful to have it, right?

Thursday Thought

I, like many of us, have listened to a good bit of coverage of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.  Fifty years!  Words spoken that were so, and continue to be today, inspiring.

I was reading an excellent article in the paper this morning that exposed an interesting fact about the speech.  It was extemporaneous.

Totally spoken from the heart.

When Dr. King began to make his speech, Mahalia Jackson, a well known gospel singer, shouted out to him. "What about the dream Dr. King, tell them about the dream!"

And from that one of the most impassioned and famous speeches in history flowed.

I follow a wonderful blog by a talented woman who lives in England.

Mrs. Black
Photo courtesy of Minerva from her blog.


 She grew up in California and will often "pop" by my blog to get her California memory fix, she tells me.  On Wednesday she had the most wonderful post up about her recollections of the time surrounding Dr. King's speech and the times that followed.

She is kind enough to let me share it here;

Click here to enjoy Minerva's perspective of a very unique time in the history of the world.

The Week That Was

Also known as The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...

The move is complete! 

Meaning we have moved our stuff from one place to another somewhat successfully. 

It does not mean it is unpacked, organized or that I know where everything is.

Today I finally found my razor, so now my legs are smooth and I can go out in public without shame.

The installation of the The Bumby is done.  She arrived this Friday, a bundle of feline nerves, spent the first day and night in a closet, but now is stalking around like she owns the place.  So, yes, things are somewhat normal.

Loaders couldn't load everything into moving truck. Well.... they COULD have, but really they didn't know how to load properly so we were left with this (and several more items) to move on our own the next day.

Even Panda was dejected.

Which in turn threw off my cleaning schedule of the old house.  

Methinks the kittehs have too many mices...

Good thing I was so picky and thorough about cleaning the house.  Mr. Tennis thought I was going a little overboard, but he soon learned why I was being so nit-picky when the owner arrived for "THE inspection".

Two hours folks. She looked at everything for two hours, marking on a sheet and conferring with the dazed and confused real estate agent who kept rolling her eyes at me. It's hard to converse through gritted teeth for two hours, I have found.

We passed! Took our deposit money she refunded right to the bank and got outta dodge!

So, the adventure continues as we settle in and unpack and try to find things.  One thing we found that we are very happy about:  Our big green couch fits in the living room. 

WOOT!!

TBL signing out for now, from California Street in The OC, The New Boston Manor!

We Interrupt This Blog...

.... to say, we will be taking several days break while we move our life from one place to the next.  Since there is no exciting road trip to chronicle this time, I figured I would spare you the tedious details such as cleaning the old house, wringing my hands while the movers are here and the expected exhaustion, elation, hysteria, but eventual happiness at the other end of the move.

 My new pet I found at the new place.  

So.

Carry on my friends and I will be checking in on you, but I will maintain radio silence for a little bit.

Don't go away!!!

Would Someone Explain to Me Why This is Happening Again?

Hey peeeeeple!

Sadie here.

TBL is busy playing around with some boxes in the other room so I thought I'd jump on the keyboard and see if any of you have any idea what is going on.

TBL and Mr. Tennis have been acting really crazy the last few weekends.  They keep putting stuff in Mr. T's car and then disappearing for hours and then return all tired and cranky and sometimes don't even take us for a walk!

This past weekend they loaded the Chiminea up, two suitcases full of stuff SHE pulled out of the closet where OUR bedsheets are kept and a bunch of boxes of those dumb blue bottles she is obsessed with.  AND THEN, they put us in a very small space in the car and drove us to an Orange place.

Orange, orange, orange.  That's all they talked about.  What's with their obsession with the color orange.

They unloaded us when we arrived at the orange place and hustled us into a place with a wooden floor, lots of plants and something familiar. TBL's birdcage that she likes to put stuff in. So this is where they've been taking OUR stuff.

They let us in a door and lo and behold we were in a kitchen!  Upon further exploration, we discovered where OUR futon had gone!

 Into a closet!  Is this woman losing her marbles? 

Panda and I did a search of the entire place and discovered more things from our home.  What the heck is going on???

Panda discovered where we will be pulling guard duty in the future.

And I just kind of roamed around in a fuzzy daze.

Finally, The Pan had to rest on one of the fluffy things TBL puts on the bed. 

 The mental stress was just enormous!  

I finally said, "Pan.... come sit outside and listen to this water thing, it's kinda soothing".

And then we both lay down and looked around a bit and noticed all the nice plants we can go dig up in our spare time.

Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

This Orange place.

One week until we make our move The City of Orange in Orange County, CA!  We've been making great progress in moving a few of the more fragile items on Saturdays and our Craigslist refrigerator was also delivered while we were there.  Movers arrive next Monday to load and unload.

So within one year we will have moved from Orange County, FL to Orange County, CA! With a stop in LA County just for good measure. Looking forward to getting to know another place in the great state of California!  TBL

Thursday Thought

I've been receiving a lot of funny, uplifting, cute, informative, thought-provoking forwards from my brother Mr. Connor.  Someone forwards them to him, you all know the drill.

Well, I received one today that made me smile and I just thought I'd share it with you, my friends.

Click here to see: So, God Made a Dog.

Panda says, "Make sure you have your sound on!"

"I Never Met A Man I Didn't Like"

Anyone know who spoke this famous quote? 

Most of us were probably born long after he was already gone, but he left a great legacy.

Mr. Tennis and I visited his beautiful ranch just outside of Hollywood this weekend and I thought I would share a few pictures of this pastoral setting, just minutes from the city.

Let me give you a few hints:

1.  He was really good with a lasso.

Original small, rustic cabin is the first level of this part of the house.  Ceiling was raised to accommodate his lasso spinning.

Addition added later.  No photos allowed inside, but mine wouldn't have done it justice.

2.  He had a wonderful sense of humor that he displayed on stage, on film, on the radio and through his newspaper column.

Courtyard/outdoor dining patio.  He liked to cook his favorite cowboy food right in this fireplace, Beans and franks.

He planted this vine himself!  Love the way it goes up the chimney.

This one too for the arbor!

3.  He loved to poke fun at politicians and was a great source of comfort to Americans during the Great Depression through his weekly radio broadcasts.

4.  He was one of the last people to see the Lindbergh baby the night he was kidnapped, and was a suspect initially because he asked the little boy if he wanted to come back to California with him.

Lots of stables and corrals throughout the park.

5.  He bought land off of what now is Sunset Blvd. (a dirt road at the time) in 1924 and turned it into a ranch, a polo field and a weekend getaway from Hollywood for his family.

Polo field is on the other side of those cars. The Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, which is just down the road,  is so-named because he and his pals would go there after their matches on this field.

Lessons, stables and horse trails all over the acreage.

6.  He regularly hosted weekend polo matches with friends riding the ponies.  Friends such as, Walt Disney, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, William Randolph Hearst and Howard Hughes.

"The stable built with jokes"

He had the roof lowered by ten feet on the rotunda when one of his buddies said it was grander than the main house.

7.  He was an avid believer and supporter of commercial air travel and tragically died in a private plane crash in Alaska. Because they ran out of gas.

Empty, but beautiful.

8.  He always chewed gum on and off stage and signed a $6M lifetime agreement with Wrigley.

Lots of vintage goodness in this stable. I know some of you love these doors.

9.  His daughter, Mary, started and ended her acting career in New York on the day he died. In a play in which she played a young woman whose father dies in a plane crash because it ran out of gas. Humphrey Bogart, who was in the play with her was the one who broke the news to her the morning after opening night.

10.  His weekend retreat, which began as a single story "cabin in the sticks" became a sprawling ranch house, which in turn became their permanent home after their Beverly Hills mansion had to be torn down due to a termite infestation.

Mystery of the day:  these seeds/nuts all over the place from trees like the one pictured below.

Anyone know what this is?  I haven't looked it up yet.

Have you guessed?

A beautiful day spent exploring the grounds, stable and homestead at Will Rogers State Park.  Okay, now who's coming to visit so I can take you there?

Thanks to everyone's good wishes for a successful return to work for The Maven.  She has slipped back into her routine and met us for lunch today before we headed to the state park.  Although tired, she is happy to be back and to be rid of the headaches, nausea and dizziness that plagued her before the surgery. We are very blessed.